Family reunion

We left Victor Harbor on Friday and headed up to Adelaide to stay at the Adelaide shores Park, which had a stay for free night (always a bonus when on a budget!) Darren enjoyed speaking at a Men's group on Friday evening.

We enjoyed the park and the pool there, we even had some nice warm days for a change! We went to the National Railway Museum and for a train ride at Semaphore (like Freo). We went to church on the Sunday and then to dinner with some families that Darren had met on Friday evening. It was great fellowship and we were very blessed to meet and encourage some more like minded people.

On Monday we came back to Victor Harbor and then popped back up to Adelaide to pick up Dad and Mum from the airport - great excitement at seeing them and then GREAT EXCITEMENT as Nic and Jen and the boys arrived later on Monday evening. It has been a restful week at Victor Harbor, enjoying the sights and the sunshine. We climbed The Bluff, took a ride on the Horse drawn tram to Granite Island, went out the the mouth of the Murray, visited a Motor Museum and generally the kids had LOTS of fun playing together and enjoying each others company, as we all did. It is sooo nice to see family again and to spend time together.

We are in Adelaide now, we will visit friends, see some sights and will be here till Wednesday when we head out to Waikerie for some time before going on to Jamestown where Dad grew up. We look forward to hearing all the childhood stories from Dad when we go there!

Victor Harbor

It has been a wonderful week here in Victor Harbor. We arrived on Saturday after driving through rain and a strong southwesterly headwind from Murray Bridge. Having settled in we went by the Tourist Info Centre down on the bay - the wind was howling through and it was very cold. A drive up to the Bluff at the western end of town gave us great views of the windswept coastline and a feel of the strength of the mighty wind off the Southern Ocean. Then on the way home we found the biggest DIP to drive down! That was the highlight of the day!!

On Sunday we went to the local Baptist church and VERY MUCH enjoyed the fellowship. We met some precious people there and we were so blessed to talk with them as they were parents of friends of ours from Perth. It makes all the difference to find a common connection and we really revelled in our conversation as we chatted about familiar people - yay!

In the afternoon we took a drive to Hindmarsh Island to see the mouth of the Murray River (see pic). After learning so much about it in our Australian History studies, it was worthwhile taking the trip to see where this mighty river meets the sea. The rain in Queensland is raising the Murray levels and the folk in Murray Bridge said the river had a current for the first time in 10 years!

On the way home we stopped by Port Elliot and took a walk on the rocks. It was great to see the waves splashing up and spraying everywhere... until one wave was just a bit too big and soaked Darren and the girls who were having fun watching them (great motivation to get back to the car!!) On returning to the car we noticed a sign saying "Beware of unexpected large waves." Whoops! (pics don't really catch how funny this was!)

Monday saw a sunny day and we took a walk along the coastline to Petrel Cove. There we found many dead birds, we wondered what it was and Grace predicted they just got too tired flying and died! Well, she was right, we found out that on a migratory flight some birds just don't make it. We climbed The Bluff and enjoyed a 360 degree view of Victor Harbor and beyond, it was a great day to do that and we really loved it.

Yesterday, back to the cold and windy, we went to the Whale Centre and learnt about the whaling industry of the early 1900's and also about sharks too. There was some information on Rodney Fox who was a diver who was bitten by a Great White Shark some 40 years ago and lived (after 100's of stitches). Since then he has pursued research and education to find out more of the sharks behaviours etc. It was an interesting tour and we found out Rodney Fox was coming in the afternoon to do some filming for a local tv show. Unfortunately he was late and we didn't get to see him! Do you like the pictures of the shark cage?

Today we took drive to Hindmarsh Falls and then to a lookout before stopping in Port Elliot to watch the local Cockle Train go by. As it was cold and drizzly we went to the local library for the afternoon, and as it was, there were a group of Home schoolers (many of which we had met at church on Sunday) there and we joined their story and craft activities. It was another time of fantastic fellowship that reminded us how grateful we are for the blessing of people everywhere who know the Lord and who are likeminded in their pursuit of faith and family discipleship.

We have very much enjoyed Victor Harbor, it is a lovely pocket of land and is a bit like the south west of WA with its green rolling hills and rugged, but nice, coastline. (The weather reminds us of Albany too!) We look forward to coming back here next week with Jen and Nic and family and my parents.

South Australia

Last Sunday we said goodbye to Warrnambool and, also, said goodbye to Victoria as we headed on to Mt Gambier. Our last few months have been very memorable in Victoria and we are grateful for the many things we did and the wonderful things we have seen and learnt, and the great times we have spent with family.

This week we have enjoyed Mt Gambier, especially the Blue Lake - it is very blue as you can see in the picture! And we all expended much effort climbing up to the Centenary Tower which sits atop the highest point that overlooks Mt Gambier city. It gave a wonderful view of the surrounding farmland and out to the coast, as well as the city itself and Valley Lake down below. We visited the Umpherstone Sink Hole where the ground has given way to the limestone caves underneath, causing a fall of about 25m where now one can walk down to enjoy the gardens below. It was a nice spot and popular in the summer when the gardens are in full bloom.

After Mt Gambier we drove on to Robe, a small town further around the coast (nice sunrise here!). A highlight was a SUPER playground we visited on the way to Robe, at Millicent. It must be one of the best we have come across and funding was contributed by Kimberley-Clark - the big paper manufacturer, which is just out of town. We saw HUGE piles of woodchips ready to be turned into tissues, toilet paper and paper towel, etc! The playground had lots fun things to do, and Sophia wondered if we were camping here! Unfortunately for everyone (including the big kid on the back of the car!) we had to move on.

We stayed at Robe for one night and now really understand why they call this the limestone coast. There is rugged rock and limestone everywhere, no wonder so many ships were lost to the depths offshore, even though they tried to rescue them - photo by the Obleisk, where they used to store rockets which they shot out to the wrecked ships so they could attach a rope and haul passengers to land. Robe was once a bustling port town where about 17,000 Chinese people came ashore during the height of the Gold Rush times (1850-1870), to make their way to the Victorian gold fields. Now it is small, a bit like Augusta.

We headed north from Robe to Kingston, and the Big Lobster - ordered in feet it arrived built in metres!! Also drove along the Coorong that day, remembering Storm Boy and his pelicans. Then got to Murray Bridge on the Murray River. It was less green that I thought it would be and it was quite hot the day we arrived. Although that changed the next day when the cool weather and rain came in! We thought it might be fun to hire a house boat, but found them too expensive and look forward to seeing more of the Murray River, later, in our travels with Dad and Mum and Jen and Nic and family, who will be here soon only 7 days, 10 hours, but who is counting anyway!! (And did I say we are REALLY looking forward to that!)

Warrnambool

Last Sunday we came along the Great Ocean road and enjoyed all the iconic sights which were very picturesque. We thought it was a windy day, but the locals said it really wasn't that windy considering what it could be! We stood firm in the gale as we viewed the Twelve Apostles, the London Bridge and the Arch!

We thought it was fantastic to see the waves crash upon the rocks as the ocean swell came in and out, slowly they wear away the limestone rocks as time goes on, and the cliffs really do put up with a hammering from the ocean! Their ability to stand firm in the midst of the storms reminds me of the grace that the Lord gives us to stand firm in the midst of our trials and difficulties on this earth. Thank goodness He is our ROCK, our fortress and our deliverer, He is our rock in whom we can take refuge. (Psalm 18:2) He also lifts us up and places our feet upon a rock, He gives us a firm place to stand and puts a new song in our mouth, Psalm 40:2. As our rock He will not change like the shifting sands and He will not fade or wear away like the limestone, His faithfulness endures forever and great is His love towards us, Ps 117.

After travelling the Great Ocean Road we headed on in to Warrnambool. Friends had suggested this was a nice place and we found out they were certainly right. Warrnambool sits on the coast but is edged around by rich farm land. It is a fast growing rural city and has all the facilities needed along with the feel of a country town. We have spent a week here, sitting out the rain, and then enjoying some days of sunshine and warm temperatures (up to 27) before it was back to the cold and showers today (15 degrees).

The caravan park we are staying at (thanks to a tip from another travelling family) is right opposite the best Adventure playground we have found. It has several different playgrounds and two super long Flying foxes, one for little kids and one for big kids, it is great (even I had a go on the big kids one!)

Some of the things we have done this week include;

We visited Fletcher Jones Gardens, which are stunning in the spring time and even Mum remembers visiting here many years ago. Unfortunately there is no factory here anymore (clothes made in China, much to Dad's disgust!!), only a FJ Clearance store, but we found the gardens to be the best part of this area by far.

A drive out to Tower Hill, a National Park set amongst some Volcanic craters which made for some nice steep walks! It was lovely to see the spring wildflowers out in full at the moment.

We went for a walk along the 5km boardwalk which borders the beach and enjoyed the sun and we went to the beach for a while as well.

Today we visited Hopkins Falls which had a heap of water flowing over it after all the rain that has been around in Victoria lately -we just wish we could bottle it and send it home to WA as they so need the rain at the moment!

We have felt very at home in Warrnambool, probably due to the lovely green paddocks that border the city, it reminds me of the North Midlands during winter, all lush and green, although it is probably a little more undulating than the flat farmland I came from. We must say the smaller towns and countryside are much more to our liking than the capital cities which are big and busy. Onwards west we go, to Mt Gambier tomorrow!

Ocean Grove

Last week we had a wonderful week in Ocean Grove we can see why Granny's family spent their summers down here on the Bellarine Peninsula!

Right after our trip into Geelong to the Ford Museum we enjoyed a super thunder/lightning show that gave us a huge puddle right at our doorstep! Thankfully it all drained away quite fast and we were all warm and dry in the caravan.

Last Thursday saw us take a drive to Queenscliff and we climbed the lookout tower to watch the Car Ferry come in - it comes in and leaves every hour to Sorrento. That was a grey cool day but it was a nice drive and we enjoyed lunch at the park and a visit to Point Lonsdale on the way home.

The next day the grey cool weather continued but we had got a tip from another family that the local Aquatic Centre was good, so we went down there and all enjoyed some swimming and playtime in the water.

On the weekend we went into Geelong to the markets and the kids enjoyed the little petting Zoo that was there. Then in the afternoon we visited some friends in Clifton Springs, on the north coast of the Peninsula. It was great to see Brian and Heather Ellis as we had seen Brian up in Queensland at the Family Camp and he is always a wealth of information regarding Character First and how we can use it in our family and to encourage others as well.

We drove on from their place to Portarlington and spotted Melbourne off in the distance across Port Philip Bay. The countryside around here is beautiful and it reminded us alot of Tasmania, lots of rolling green hills which roll right down to the coast, very picturesque we thought.

Sunday was the first warm and sunny day we have had all week - yay! We had our usual morning family church time together and then we enjoyed a walk along the boardwalk that runs along the inlet and the spring flowers were out in everyone's gardens which was very pretty. In the afternoon, the kids enjoyed the playground over the road from our van and we all enjoyed a quiet time to catch up on stuff.

It was nice to park in Ocean Grove for a week, it really is a lovely spot, Darren and I enjoyed walking the boardwalk in the mornings and although the park has some 400 sites there was only 6 or so vans in so it is very quiet. We also were looking forward to seeing our friends, the Holt's. They are making a move from WA to the East to be closer to family and it just so happens that we will be here when they arrive, so we are very glad to be able to catch up with them before we head off and as they start their new adventure in their old stomping ground of Geelong!

So on Monday we had our usual family devotion time - it has been wonderful to have the slower pace of life which affords us the extra time to spend reading God's Word together so we can learn and grow in wisdom and character. After this the kids did their school work, as usual, and we headed off to do some shopping, before returning for lunch and then to await our WA visitors!! It is always GREAT to see familiar friends and when we have been on the road for so long and don't have the face to face contact with those we know, it makes those we see even more special! Not only that, we rarely get the chance to entertain in our 15m square space, so this was rather exciting and novel for us!!

Well, after all this build up, it was really great to see Marcus, Caroline, Paul and Alex. We caught up on their news of things back home in WA and told them of our travels. We had a BBQ and then - as the day had been so warm, we took an evening walk down to the beach. There was barely a breath of wind and we all enjoyed kicking the footy and playing the "cross out the square" game, a Marcus specialty! Unfortunately I forgot my camera so you all miss out on a fabulous sunset shot (lucky for you Marcus!!) but the memory will remain ours as to the treasured time we had with our good friends - great conversation, good fellowship and fun games! It is good to know, even though distance separates us, faith and friendship are not limited by that (and blog updates are a real bonus too!)

Tuesday started out warm and we visited the local library - a favourite activity of ours - to enjoy reading some books, that was until the clouds came up and it was a scramble to get back to get the washing in before the skies unleashed another rain/thunder storm again! Darren and Jerome went to visit the Armstrong's, friends of Marcus, who had a fantastic train memorabilia collection and model railway. This is always a highlight for Jerome, he loves to see what others collect and talk with anyone about trains!

Well, after a week at Ocean Grove, it was time to move on and so on Wednesday we packed up and headed out on the Great Ocean Road, through Torquay and Lorne to Wye River. It was a lovely drive, although clouds and light misty rain somewhat obscured what could be a brilliant view. The road was windy and it was an experience to travel this famous stretch of Victorian coastline - and admire the men who, with pick and shovel, built this road from 1919 to 1932 - it is an icon of our great nation and I always love to see the sea stretching off to the horizon. I am reminded of the song we sung when I was young - "Wide, wide as the ocean, High as the heavens above, Deep, deep as the deepest sea, is my Saviour's Love..." How vast and unfathomable is the love of the Lord for His children and for all those who He created and how thankful I am for His mercy and grace extended to me.

Yesterday, we enjoyed a brief return to spring and made the most of it travelling to Apollo Bay where we enjoyed stunning views of the coastline and Bay area. It really is a majestic place with some very nice beaches. We even saw a koala crossing the road on the way back! With bad weather forecast we put up the annex and pegged everything down and today, it is back to the cold with rain, wind and multiple hail storms... we will not complain though, as Mum said, "You'll get plenty of the warm weather when you get home to WA, enjoy what you have now." And yes, we'll take that advice get all the winter woolies out and rug up for the next few days! Brrr